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The login and password in teh store occasionally burps for reasons we are trying to figure out, if you have problems, just hit the button to proceed without logging in. All teh log in does is save you info so you don;t have to enter it in everytime you want to buy something. So far nobody has reported a problem withthe manual method, and redoing a new registration, fixes the login problem. FOr some reasons one of the updates we did madethe form incompatible with some of the stored regisitrations...you gotta love this stuff, its always sumpthin'

COmbat Leader is our attempt to start from a clean sheet and do a tactical game that SP:WaW players will be very familiar with, but will not have a lot fo the limitations in it (like an 11 year old compiler) that are teh root of teh remaining problems with SP:WaW.

We just can't fix SP:WaW the way we want, short of "gut and paste" of major systems, 'like spotting and artillery) and we have to be able to charge for teh product to make that level of change.

So we are basically the idea of a hex based, squad and single tank, top down display IGO-UGO game and "doing it right" based on all the input we have gotten over the years.

Teh first module will be a small step - we figure 3-4 years to get everything we want into teh game, so we are working on a "spiral developmet cycle" You get a firm foundation established, you get it out to teh users, and you get feedback for the next module.

The problems are, the first module doesn't have "everything" (in fact may be a step backward form some points of view) so some people are going to wait for "the end" to get "everything.

That is bad because if the initial two modules don't sell, the last ones will never get made, and players playing the game are a significant source of likes and dislikes about desing decisions and the game direction.

We have a firm direction we want the game to go, this will not be "game design by poll" but it has flexibility to accomodate things the few of us desingn/developers may not have thought of.

We have to get a game that uses a modern compiler, libaries, etc that we own, to go the "next step". Will this new game be SP:WaW ver 8?

EMPAHTICALLY NOT!!

What it will be is a whole lot of things that SP:WaW CAN'T be becasue of the limitations of the design. But it has to start of slow, look at how long it has taken us to go from SP:WaW v1 to V7! So in many ways we are starting over, but with a broader foundation that will allow us to build a much better game out of!

If you have liked what we have done with SP:WaW, you will not be disappointed!

Thanks Paul, that was my whole point to begin with <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

Paul Vebber: See if you can answer this. Do you think that CL will work as well as SPWAW 1.0, albeit just the one front?

Paul

I just love your ideas on the development of CL.

I agree completely that redoing the game from scratch with the experiences you already have and taking advantage of never technology can have great promises.

Count me in as a customer from the very first module!

Color

Charles: it will "work" better. The whole point is to eliminate the underlying causes of many of the remaining bugs and "architecture limitations".

What it won't have is all the features that the current SP:WaW has, or I should say it will have different features. So you may not have paratroops and infiltrating spec ops right out of the box, or naval units beyond assault boats and barges to cross rivers. Or level bombers or naval guns. Things like that. Air strikes may be more abstract. You may not have a "campaign generator" or "user created campaigns" in the initial module. We are focusing initially on a better battle generator and tools for user created scenarios. The "long campaign" is a favorite that will be given attention, but may not have all the capability we want. Thats not to say those things definately WON'T be there, but that how much gets added tot eh "basic" infantry, tanks, arty mix remains to be seen.

We are focusing on infantry, tanks and arty and making sure that aspect of the game is solid. Battle generator, scenario editor, OOB's and long campaign are the "big" things we think players like, but we will not have all the bells and whistles working in the initial game. Data elements in OOBs may not all be enabled yet, not all terrain types may be in use, a limited number of heights etc.

As we work with the alpha version and get ready to go into beta, playtesters will be recruited, and we eill let you know through them, how things are going and what things will get in the "final version" of "module one". IF a feature causes bugs, we will not include it. The goal is to create a bug free foundation that allows players to play basic combined arms scenarios on the Eastern Front. When we have that we will release module 1.

Hopefully that long winded answer gets to your point?